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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §30.1.51.pr

Status of Specific Coins or Objects as Specific Legacies

Passage 4647 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Explains that if specific coins or a specific object are bequeathed, they are treated as a legacy of specific things rather than a generic sum of money, meaning they do not admit of substitution and must be valued as specific objects.

[PAPINIANUS libro quarto quaestionum. ] §30.1.51.prSed si certos nummos (ueluti quos in arca habet) aut certam lancem legauit, non numerata pecunia, sed ipsa corpora nummorum uel rei legatae continentur neque permutationem recipiunt et exemplo cuiuslibet corporis aestimanda sunt.
[PAPINIAN, Book 4 of Questions.] But if he bequeathed specific coins (such as those he has in his chest) or a specific dish, not a sum of money, but the actual bodies of the coins or of the bequeathed thing itself are contained [in the legacy], and they do not admit of substitution, and they must be valued after the example of any specific object.

Notes

  1. 30.1.51.prnon numerata pecunia, sed ipsa corpora nummorum — This expression marks a contrast. `numerata pecunia` refers to a sum of counted money (fungible/generic money), which is contrasted with `ipsa corpora` (the physical bodies, i.e., specific things). They form the subject of the main verb `continentur` (are contained or comprised in the legacy).
  2. 30.1.51.prexemplo cuiuslibet corporis — Here `corpus` denotes a "specific thing" or "individual object" in the context of Roman law. It indicates that, unlike general fungible monetary claims, rules of valuation and risk-allocation applicable to non-fungible, specific things apply to them.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §30.1.51.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:30.1.51.pr

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